Patent Grant
8985312
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to conveyor systems, and more particularly, to a conveyor system of the type that employs a conveyor belt cover that in some embodiments has antimicrobial properties and displays a printed decorative feature or message.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The desire for incorporating advertising and other messages or indicia onto conveyor systems has long been recognized. The prior art has numerous times addressed the need to enhance conveyors, particularly at retail check-out stands, with decorative and advertising elements that increase visual appeal or stimulate sales of products and services.
Many of the prior art efforts directed toward achieving a suitable display of information at retail checkout locations involve the application of indicia on the checkout conveyor belt. In some such instances, printing is performed directly on the checkout conveyor belt, and in other prior art approaches preprinted material is adhered or otherwise attached to the checkout conveyor belt.
In one known arrangement, preprinted static cling sheets are adhered to the checkout conveyor belt by electrostatic attraction. It is well-known, however that electrostatic attraction is unreliable. The quality of the adhesion is inherently weak, in no small measure is a function of ambient temperature and humidity, and is attacked by the need to stretch when traveling over pulleys. Ultimately, abrasion caused by products being placed on the checkout conveyor belt during the checkout procedure will cause lifting of the static cling sheets, particularly at the leading edges, resulting in buckling, binding, and total separation. The separated static cling sheets can collect under the checkout conveyor belt requiring at least partial disassembly of the checkout stand to effect clearing.
In another known arrangement, a cover is arranged to surround the entire checkout conveyor belt, and is releasably attached thereto. Plural attachments of the cover to the checkout conveyor belt in this known arrangement are made as perimeter and width attachment components. Numerous problems are present in the practice of the known arrangement. For example, the cover will buckle and tend to deviate laterally (i.e., transverse to the direction of conveyance). Nevertheless, even when the cover is installed to achieve adequate initial alignment, stretching and distortion of the cover on the belt will result from the cover being loaded, and from being driven about the support rollers, ultimately resulting in axial deviation that in relatively short order will require the checkout stand to be shut down for repair or replacement of the cover. Such covers must be produced to exacting standards to improve the likelihood that replacement covers track with the moving checkout conveyor belt. However, as stated, shear forces ultimately will separate the cover from the checkout conveyor belt, and in instances where strong adhesives are used, damage to the checkout conveyor belt will result.
An obvious problem with known arrangements that use permanent print directly on the checkout conveyor belt is that the elevated cost of the base belt and the need for installation by skilled individuals prohibit frequent change of the message. In addition, some known methods of applying indicia to a checkout conveyor belt require formation of recesses in the surface of the belt that accommodates the indicia, and such recesses are not only costly to achieve, but also form crevices where bacteria and other microbes accumulate and grow. Efforts have been made in the art to cover the indicia with transparent plastic, but this renders the checkout conveyor belt thicker, less flexible, and more costly.
It is a further problem with known checkout conveyor arrangements that consumer articles placed thereon, such as meat packages and liquids, will be deposited on the conveyor, providing nutrition to colonies of bacteria and other microbes. Customers are fully aware of such spills on the conveyor, and are often adverse to permitting the foodstuffs that they intend to purchase from communicating directly with the conveyor. Such customers would be comforted by an effective antimicrobial feature in the checkout conveyor.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a system for stimulating sales of products or services at retail checkout locations.
It is another object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt wherein the message thereon is simply and inexpensively changeable at frequent intervals that are significantly shorter than the life of the checkout conveyor belt.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt that does not have crevices where bacteria will accumulate.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt that does not require modification of the base checkout conveyor belt.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a low cost cover for a base conveyor belt that also has relatively low cost of maintenance due to the elimination of the need for alignment adjustment.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt that does not require adhesion to the base checkout conveyor belt, and that readily can be removed without impacting the utility of the base checkout conveyor belt.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt that covers the base checkout conveyor belt substantially entirely, is sufficiently flexible so as not to impose significant loading on the belt drive system, but is sufficiently rigid so as not to curl or bind at the axial edges.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a cover system for a base conveyor belt wherein the conveyor belt cover aligns itself axially in the direction of conveyance, particularly after having temporarily been subjected to loading.
It is also another object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt whereby the installation does not require removal, modification, or replacement of the base checkout conveyor belt.
It is yet an additional object of this invention to provide a system for installing indicia on a checkout conveyor belt whereby the installation can quickly be achieved by persons of limited mechanical skills.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an antimicrobial feature to a conveyor arrangement.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by this invention which provides, in accordance with a first aspect thereof, a conveyor arrangement of the type having a plurality of conveyor rollers. The conveyor arrangement is provided with a base conveyor belt arranged to be urged endlessly around the plurality of conveyor rollers. In addition, there is provided a conveyor belt cover formed of an endless loop of material and arranged in frictional communication over the base conveyor belt.
In one embodiment of the invention, the conveyor belt cover is formed of a single ply polyester fabric material carcass. In a further embodiment, the conveyor belt cover has incorporated therein a monofilament woven into the weft of the fabric material carcass, the weft being in a direction transverse to the direction in which the base conveyor belt is urged endlessly around the plurality of conveyor rollers.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the conveyor belt cover has a structural rigidity characteristic greater than 140 pg/cm2 in the weft direction, as determined in accordance with DIN 53362. These characteristics of the conveyor belt cover facilitate a self-aligning feature of the inventive conveyor belt cover.
In operation, the conveyor belt cover has an inner surface for forming the frictional communication with the base conveyor belt, and an outer surface for communicating with articles to be conveyed. The conveyor belt cover is installed to a tensile force of approximately between 1 and 1.5 pounds/inch of width, which corresponds to an overall elongation of approximately ˜0.1%. The frictional communication between the inner surface of the conveyor belt cover and the base conveyor belt corresponds to a maximum dynamic coefficient of friction of approximately between ˜0.47 and ˜0.52. A message, which may constitute advertising material, is printed on the outer surface of the conveyor belt cover.
In a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided an antimicrobial material disposed on the outer surface of the conveyor belt cover. The antimicrobial material is, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, formed of a selectable combination of silver and silver oxide nanoparticles embedded in a polymeric film. In other embodiments, the antimicrobial material further comprises zinc oxide particles embedded in the polymeric film. The polymeric film includes a polymer selected from the group consisting of a polyurethane, a vinyl, an acrylic, a polyester, a melamine, a polyolefin, a polycarbonate, and an epoxy, and has a thickness of approximately ˜0.5 mil. In one embodiment of the invention, the polymeric film is initially (i.e., prior to being installed onto the fabric material carcass) in a liquid state, and includes a solvent selected from the group consisting of water, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetone toluene, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, propel acetate, n-methyl 1-2 pyrrolidone, tetrahydrofuran, glycol, and glycol ethers.
In a still further embodiment, the base conveyor belt is provided with an antimicrobial material disposed on an outer surface thereof. Additionally, in some embodiments, a message is printed on the outer surface.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a conveyor arrangement of the type having a plurality of conveyor rollers. The conveyor arrangement is provided with a base conveyor belt arranged to be urged endlessly around the plurality of conveyor rollers, the base belt having an inner surface that communicates with the conveyor rollers, and an outer surface. A layer of antimicrobial material is deposited on the outer surface of the base conveyor belt.
In one embodiment of this further aspect of the invention, there is further provided a conveyor belt cover formed of an endless loop of fabric material and arranged in frictional communication with the layer of antimicrobial material on the base conveyor belt. Also, in a still further embodiment, a layer of antimicrobial material is deposited on the conveyor belt cover. The antimicrobial material on the base conveyor belt has, in one embodiment, a thickness of approximately 0.5 mil.
In a highly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the conveyor belt cover has incorporated therein a monofilament weft that increases structural rigidity. The weft is disposed in a direction transverse to the direction in which the base conveyor belt is urged endlessly around the plurality of conveyor rollers. As previously noted, a message is printed on the conveyor belt cover in some embodiments of the invention. Also, in other embodiments, a message is printed on the outer surface of the base conveyor belt.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a conveyor arrangement of the type having a plurality of conveyor rollers. The conveyor arrangement includes a base conveyor belt arranged that is urged endlessly around the plurality of conveyor rollers, and has a conveyance surface that travels in a substantially axial direction of conveyance. There is additionally provided a conveyor belt cover formed of an endless loop of fabric material and arranged in frictional communication over the base conveyor belt. The conveyor belt cover is displaceable with respect to the base conveyor belt in an axial direction.
In a highly advantageous embodiment of this still further aspect of the invention, the conveyor belt cover is displaceable with respect to the base conveyor belt in a transaxial direction. Such transaxial displaceability enables a self-alignment feature of the invention. Self-alignment is facilitated by configuring the conveyor belt cover to have a structural rigidity characteristic that is greater than approximately ˜140 pg/cm2, as determined in accordance with DIN 53362 in the weft direction. Preferably, the frictional communication between an inner surface of the conveyor belt cover and the base conveyor belt corresponds to a maximum dynamic coefficient of friction of approximately between ˜0.47 and ˜0.52.
The conveyor belt cover has, in an advantageous embodiment of this still further aspect of the invention, a layer of antimicrobial material deposited on an outer surface thereof. Additionally, in other embodiments, the base conveyor belt has a further layer of antimicrobial material deposited on its outer surface. In still further embodiments, there is provided a message printed on the outer surface of the base conveyor belt.
Comprehension of the invention is facilitated by reading the following detailed description, in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which:
As shown in
In this embodiment of the invention, belt cover 112 is made into an endless loop that surrounds base conveyor belt 110 by attachment of its trailing and leading edges (not specifically designated in this figure). A specific illustrative embodiment of this attachment is represented in
In one embodiment of the invention, belt cover 112 is formed of a PVC coated fabric material. In some embodiments, the belt cover serves as a protective coat over base conveyor belt 110 that can be replaced several times within the period of the useful life of base conveyor belt 110. In a highly advantageous embodiment, belt cover 112 is provided with printed art and/or text on one side. In a further embodiment of the present aspect of the invention, there is provided a polymeric coating (not specifically designated) that is applied to a thickness of approximately ˜0.5 mil. In some embodiments of the invention, the coating has enhanced abrasion resistant properties.
In a further specific illustrative embodiment of the invention, belt cover 112 is provided with a non-degrading antimicrobial material (not shown) that has been embedded in an applied coating (not shown in this figure). The antimicrobial is, in one embodiment, combined with the polymer prior to application, and comprises a silver (AU) anode particle of approximately between 4 and 6 nanometers.
The belt cover, after installation, travels on the outside of, and substantially concurrently with, base conveyor belt 110. It is an aspect of the present invention that once installed, belt cover 112 is not attached to base conveyor belt 110, and the rotation of belt cover 112 will be the result of a friction communication between the external surface of base conveyor belt 110 and the internal surface of belt cover 112. However, for each revolution of base conveyor belt 110 around rollers 115 and 117, belt cover 112 must travel a longer distance, that is responsive to the effective increased roller diameter as a result of the thickness of base conveyor belt 110. In addition, the longer distance of travel of belt cover 112 is responsive to the weight of the articles (not shown) placed on conveyor arrangement 100 by the customer (not shown).
In a specific illustrative embodiment of the invention, the tensile force applied to belt cover 112 is approximately between 1 pound/inch and 1.5 pounds/inch. This tensile force is achieved during the installation process, when the cover is tensioned until an elongation of approximately 0.1% is exhibited by belt cover 112. The maximum dynamic coefficient of friction between the base conveyor belt 110 and belt cover 112 is approximately between ˜0.47 and ˜0.52. This range of friction is achieved between the bare exposed polyester carcass of belt cover 112 and the polymeric coating (not specifically designated) of base conveyor belt 110. In addition, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the flexural rigidity of belt cover 112 is greater than approximately ˜140 pg/cm2 in the weft direction, as determined in accordance with DIN 53362. The flexural rigidity in the weft direction is approximately ˜1.405 times that of the warp direction. As will be described below, this structural rigidity is achieved by use of a monofilament weft in the single ply polyester fabric material carcass of belt cover 112.
This embodiment of conveyor belt cover 112 has a PVC coating 155 disposed over material carcass 150. In addition, there is provided a coating 157 in which are embedded non-degrading antimicrobial nanoparticles 159. The non-degrading antimicrobial nanoparticles were mixed into the coating while it was in a liquid state prior to being applied to the fabric material carcass. In a highly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the antimicrobial nanoparticles include silver anode particles of approximately between 4 and 6 nanometers in diameter.
In a specific illustrative embodiment of the invention, polyurethane coating 157 has a thickness of approximately ˜0.0005″; PVC coating 155 has a thickness of approximately ˜0.012″; and fabric material carcass 150 is a single ply material having a thickness of approximately ˜0.031″. The weft monofilament yarn has a cross-sectional diameter of approximately ˜0.3 mm (0.012″), and the warp yarn has a linear density of approximately ˜1000 denier (1100 decitex). There are approximately ˜142 weft yarns per 10 cm, and ˜106 warp yarns per 10 cm.
In one embodiment of the invention, PVC coating 155 has a hardness characteristic of approximately durometer ˜75. An electrostatically conductive thread (not shown) can optionally be woven into the weft or warp of fabric material carcass 150. Other characteristics of the combination of materials used in belt cover 112 are that the top surface (not specifically designated) has a satin finish (not shown in this figure); no coating is applied to under surface 160 of fabric material carcass 150 in order to achieve a desired maximum dry coefficient of friction with the base conveyor belt of approximately between ˜0.47 and ˜0.52, as hereinabove set forth; and that the fabric material has a weight characteristic in this illustrative embodiment of approximately ˜0.015812 lbs/in-ft.
In one embodiment, the ability of the specific conveyor belt cover herein described to become elongated in response to the application of tensile force is approximately ˜0.4% at 12 lbs/in; ˜0.7% at 24 lbs/in; and ˜2.0% at 45 lbs/in.
A misalignment occurs when belt cover 112 travels off of axis, illustratively in the direction of arrow 182, which is shown to be directed in a direction that is transverse to axis 181. Such misalignment will cause belt cover 112 to communicate with inner rail surface 175. As a result of the physical characteristics of belt cover 112, as hereinabove described, belt cover 112 is urged back to alignment (i.e., in the direction of arrow 184), without buckling or wrinkling. Similarly, misalignment resulting from travel of belt cover 112 in the direction of arrow 186, which also is directed transverse to the axis of conveyance, will cause the belt cover to communicate with inner rail surface 173, and consequently to be urged into realignment in the direction of arrow 188.
As noted, belt cover 112 communicates frictionally with the base conveyor belt (not shown in this figure), and therefore is displaceable in all directions with respect to the base conveyor belt. The self-alignment characteristic of the present invention is effected by permitting belt cover 112 to be multidirectionally displaceable over the base conveyor belt. More specifically, the conveyor belt cover is displaceable with respect to the base conveyor belt not only in the axial direction (i.e., in the direction of conveyance), but also transaxially, and has adequate structural rigidity to be urged back into alignment, as herein described, without excessive distortion.
The specific illustrative embodiment of the invention represented in this
Although the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments and applications, persons skilled in the art may, in light of this teaching, generate additional embodiments without exceeding the scope or departing from the spirit of the invention described and claimed herein. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawing and description in this disclosure are proffered to facilitate comprehension of the invention, and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/343,857 filed May 5, 2010, Conf. No. 5334 (Foreign Filing License Granted) in the names of the same inventors as herein. The disclosure in the identified United States Provisional Patent Application is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2011/000803 | 5/5/2011 | WO | 00 | 3/22/2013 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2011/139381 | 11/10/2011 | WO | A |
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